Tension gripped the surroundings of the Jurala project in Telangana's Jogulamba Gadwal district on Monday, 21 September as police stopped Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders and farmers from marching towards the dam, sparking scuffles and a wave of detentions. The protest centres on farmers' demands for immediate release of irrigation water to save standing paddy crops.

How the confrontation unfolded

The BRS had called for a dharna at the dam in solidarity with farmers who say crop losses are imminent due to the absence of water releases. As a large contingent of farmers and party workers converged on the project from multiple points, police erected barricades and deployed vehicles to block access. A scuffle broke out when protesters attempted to break through the police cordon, leading to the detention of several individuals, including former MLA Chittam Rammohan Reddy.

Former ministers Niranjan Reddy and Laxma Reddy were placed under house arrest, while mandal-level BRS leaders were taken into preventive custody from early morning. BRS leaders alleged that police were stationed at every point within a 12-kilometre radius around the dam.

Roots of the agitation

The standoff has been building since 19 September, when a group of farmers — frustrated by what they described as official apathy — unilaterally opened the head regulator to release water into the Left Canal. Project officials subsequently closed the regulator and reinforced security at the site. Authorities cited El Niño conditions and the absence of clearance from senior officials as reasons for withholding releases, adding that diverting water for irrigation could affect drinking water supplies in the region.

Farmers have contested this reasoning. The Jurala project currently holds a live capacity of 5.1 TMC ft against its gross capacity of 8.81 TMC ft, a fact agitators say undermines the administration's stated concerns.

BRS demands state action

BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao condemned the detentions, calling the crackdown on farmers and party leaders — including former ministers from the erstwhile Palamuru (Mahabubnagar) district — unacceptable. He demanded that the Telangana government immediately release irrigation water to Jurala ayacut farmers and protect their crops before the harvest window closes.

On-ground impact

The heavy police deployment brought traffic on the Atmakur–Gadwal highway to a standstill as vehicles were stopped for checks. Roads leading to the dam were blocked with barricades and police vehicles. The scale of the operation — covering a 12-km radius and encompassing house arrests, preventive detentions, and highway closures — signals the administration's resolve to prevent a repeat of the 19 September incident.

With the paddy season at a critical juncture and the opposition intensifying its mobilisation, the standoff is likely to escalate unless the state government intervenes with a concrete water release schedule.